Re-Fridge
Timeline
24 Hours
Team
3 Designers, 1 PM
Style
Mobile, iOS
Timeline
24 Hours
Team
3 Designers, 1 PM
Style
Mobile, iOS
Re-Fridge
Eliminating household food waste while making it fun.
Eliminating household food waste
while making it fun.
Timeline
24 Hours
Team
3 Designers, 1 PM
Style
Mobile, iOS
PROJECT OVERVIEW
About Re-Fridge
This project was made for the UBC UXathon, a 24-hour design competition. We placed 3rd place overall.
This project was made in collaboration with Aubrey Ventura, Elisabeth Lau, and Mia Makino. My role was
primarily a designer and project manager.
This project was made for the UBC UXathon, a
24-hour design competition. We placed 3rd place
overall.
This project was made in collaboration with Aubrey
Ventura, Elisabeth Lau, and Mia Makino. My role was
primarily a designer and project manager.
THE PROBLEM
Households regularly waste food
Despite all the good intentions, there are a million things competing for our attention. People buy groceries
wanting to eat healthy, but by Thursday the vegetables from Monday are forgotten in the back of the fridge.
Despite all the good intentions, there are a million
things competing for our attention. People buy
groceries wanting to eat healthy, but by Thursday the
vegetables from Monday are forgotten in the back of
the fridge.
USER RESEARCH
The invisible inventory problem
I conducted 10+ interviews with busy parents, students, and young professionals to understand what
causes household food waste.
60% of people waste food because they forget what they have
33% report food going bad within 2-4 weeks
Partipants report lack of motivation, decision fatigue, and not knowing what to do
with leftover ingredients.
I conducted 10+ interviews with busy parents,
students, and young professionals to understand
what causes household food waste.
60% of people waste food because they forget
what they have33% report food going bad within 2-4 weeks
Partipants report lack of motivation, decision
fatigue, and not knowing what to do
with leftover ingredients.
THE PAIN POINT TARGET
Designing for the moments between grocery shopping
and throwing food away
Designing for the moments
between grocery shopping
and throwing food away
Most food waste happens in the gap between purchase and meal planning: the "middle space" when
inventory becomes invisible and meal decisions happen under time pressure. This is the main pain point we
decided to target.
Most food waste happens in the gap between
purchase and meal planning: the "middle space"
when inventory becomes invisible and meal decisions
happen under time pressure. This is the main pain
point we decided to target.
Track, cook, and earn
Keep your fridge organized and discover what to cook with what you have. With one tap, scan groceries
to track expiration dates, get recipe suggestions based on your inventory, and earn rewards for cooking
sustainably.
Keep your fridge organized and discover what to
cook with what you have. With one tap, scan
groceries to track expiration dates, get recipe
suggestions based on your inventory, and earn
rewards for cooking sustainably.
Smart inventory that tracks itself
When you get home from grocery shopping, scan barcodes to automatically log items with their
expiration dates. The app sends proactive notifications when food is about to expire: transforming invisible
inventory into visible, actionable information right when you need it most.
• Barcode scanning makes tracking fast enough to actually use consistently (seconds, not minutes).
• Duplicate purchase alerts prevent buying items you already have at home.
• Expiration notifications catch the problem before food goes bad, not after.
When you get home from grocery shopping, scan
barcodes to automatically log items with their
expiration dates. The app sends proactive
notifications when food is about to expire:
transforming invisible inventory into visible,
actionable information right when you need it most.
• Barcode scanning makes tracking fast enough
to actually use consistently (seconds, not minutes).
• Duplicate purchase alerts prevent buying items
you already have at home.
• Expiration notifications catch the problem
before food goes bad, not after.
Recipes that use what you already own
The recipe engine prioritizes ingredients in your tracked inventory, with expiration-date sorting that puts
soon-to-expire items at the top. Time filters let you see only 15-minute, 30-minute, or 1-hour recipes based
on how much time you actually have. Dietary filters accommodate allergies, lifestyle choices, and religious
requirements so every recipe shown is inclusive and usable.
• Inventory-first recommendations solve the "what do I do with leftovers" problem.
• Time-based filtering acknowledges real constraints instead of showing aspirational 2-hour recipes.
• Comprehensive dietary filtering makes the app work for diverse populations from day one.
The recipe engine prioritizes ingredients in your
tracked inventory, with expiration-date sorting that
puts soon-to-expire items at the top. Time filters let
you see only 15-minute, 30-minute, or 1-hour recipes
based on how much time you actually have.
Dietary filters accommodate allergies, lifestyle
choices, and religious requirements so every recipe
shown is inclusive and usable.
• Inventory-first recommendations solve the
"what do I do with leftovers" problem.
• Time-based filtering acknowledges real
constraints.
• Comprehensive dietary filtering makes the app
work for diverse populations from day one.
GreenPoints: Making sustainable cooking feel rewarding
GreenPoints: Making sustainable
cooking feel rewarding
Every time you cook with tracked ingredients before they expire, you earn GreenPoints. Points redeem for
real grocery gift cards from Save-On-Foods and other major Canadian retailers. The gamification transforms
waste reduction from a guilt-driven obligation into an achievement system.
• Positive reinforcement drives long-term behavior change better than guilt or awareness.
• Real-world rewards provide tangible value, especially meaningful for students and
budget-conscious families.
• Users want to cook to earn points, not because they should—changing motivation
from external to internal.
Every time you cook with tracked ingredients before
they expire, you earn GreenPoints. Points redeem for
real grocery gift cards from Save-On-Foods and
other major Canadian retailers. The gamification
transforms waste reduction from a guilt-driven
obligation into an achievement system.
• Positive reinforcement drives long-term behavior
change better than guilt or awareness.
• Real-world rewards provide tangible value,
especially meaningful for students and
budget-conscious families.
• Users want to cook to earn points, not because
they should—changing motivation fom external
to internal.
Social sharing: Compete with friends on waste reduction
Social sharing: Compete with
friends on waste reduction
We explored adding social features where users could see friends' GreenPoints and compete on waste
reduction leaderboards.
We explored adding social features where users
could see friends' GreenPoints and compete on waste
reduction leaderboards.
CONCLUSION
Key Takeaways
Users already knew food waste was bad, but knowing something should change doesn't make it easy to change.
Tangible motivation that makes sustainable behaviour feel rewarding rather than burdensome is what makes users
more drawn and focused towards their goals.
Users already knew food waste was bad, but
knowing something should change doesn't make it
easy to change. Tangible motivation that makes
sustainable behaviour feel rewarding rather than
burdensome.
Don't be a stranger
Let's connect!
Made with love & endless Spotify playlists by Iris Danna Liu ♡
Don't be a stranger
Let's connect!
Made with love & endless Spotify playlists by Iris Danna Liu ♡
Don't be a stranger
Let's connect!
Made with love & endless Spotify playlists by Iris Danna Liu ♡